When the Rules Get Broken
by Lady Lylia
Summary: The Night World as you've never seen it before. This is SLASH. Please read the first chapter, at least. Thank you, PLEASE R/R!
1. When the Rules Get Broken

THE NIGHT WORLD . . . WHERE LOVE WAS NEVER SO SCARY  
  
The Night World isn't a place. It's all around us. It's a secret society of vampires, werewolves, witches, and other creatures of darkness that live among us. They're beautiful and deadly and irresistable to humans. You high school teacher could be one, and so could your boyfriend.  
  
The Night World laws say it's okay to hunt humans. It's okay to toy with their hearts, it's even okay to kill them. There are only two things you can't do wiht them.  
  
1.) Never let them find out that the Night World exists.  
  
2.) Never fall in love with them.  
  
These are stories about what happens when the rules get broken.  
  
* * *  
  
The words of LJ Smith. The simple equation for a Night World story. Break both rules. The funny thing is that much more can occur within that framework, still being a Night World story. The concept of soulmates is far- reaching, even soaring across differences of species.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Why would gender be any different?  
  
These are stories about what happens when the rules get broken. 


	2. Falling

The streets were empty, quiet. Too quiet. Taliesin knew every kind of silence. This was the eerie kind, when something had startled all the birds of the forest into silence, when not even a bullfrog croaked. THAT was the silence he heard now. Nowhere, especially a city as big as New York, should ever be this quiet. Especially when TALIESIN couldn't hear a thing.  
  
He shook his head slowly, easing a crick in his tan neck. He shouldn't be worried, they had gone over their plan a thousand times. Even so, he felt nervous. The minute hairs covering his body seemed to all stand on end at the same time. Not a pleasant feeling.  
  
Why? Nothing was going to go wrong. Even if they were seen, they looked like they belonged. All of them. He risked glancing around, at his friends and partners. The first he saw was Oberon, of course. Little Obie only wore white. Sad thing was, it suited the spritely vampire. Oberon was a lamia, and he had stopped aging around eleven. Though really fifteen, he looked like a little blonde, doe-eyed kid. Looks could be deceiving, because Obie was dangerous, especially if his victim didn't see it coming. And they NEVER saw it coming.  
  
Tonight, Oberon was pretending to be a little boy waiting for the bus. He even had a backpack on, so he looked like a normal human kid. At the moment, he looked like a little kid trying not to stand next to the prostitute who was apparently waiting with him. That curvacious girl in a leather miniskirt and fishnets standing next to him could have caused quite a few double takes, if anyone saw her. But between the emptiness of the street and the fact that it WAS New York, no one gave the hooker a second glance.  
  
Of course, anyone who tried to get this particular girl to go home with them was in for a big surprise. Lenore was a made vampire, bitten last year when she was sixteen. She normally dressed only slightly less like a slut, so convincing her to dress up like this took nothing at all. At the moment she was checking her nails to make sure the black polish wasn't chipping.  
  
Somewhere across the street, another person was lurking. Taliesin thought that Habbakkuk was behind the dumpster in the alley, but now he couldn't be sure, even with his infrared vision. It didn't matter. The werewolf would make an appearance when he was needed, not before. That Taliesin couldn't see him was a good thing, for anyone who saw Habbakkuk would hear alarm bells in his head.  
  
He could picture the werewolf in his mind, snarling down at him even in his human guise. Habbakkuk the man was nearly seven feet tall and pale, with thick black hair in a braid down his back. His goatee was braided in two, and those braids reached down to his chest. He always wore all black, his clothes made from solely the hides of wolves and werewolves. That outfit meant he could shapechange at will, a major boon for him. Taliesin refused to keep thinking about his tall and menacing friend, for he could almost feel the heat of the werewolf's grey eyes on him, cutting thorugh the dark.  
  
The last person in the group was standing right beside him. Guenhyvar was a witch, and a cousin of Oberon. She had long hair, silvery blondish white. Her eyes were a frosty periwinkle blue, almost the color of a blind man's. She wore pale blue, the same color as her eyes, and her soul. It suited her. The witch of the group, Guen was neat, organized, quiet, and cold. Especially cold. There were walls upon walls surrounding her that no one could breach. Taliesin knew; he had tried. He was still trying.  
  
Finally, of course, Taliesin looked at himself. He could picture how he would appear to anyone who happened to notice him. Not that they were supposed to, but... He was medium height, about five and a half feet, deeply tanned and fairly lean. His muscles were lean, wiry, rock hard. His hair rose above his head about three inches, black with flaming orange tips. His eyes were brilliant amber, a color the ladies loved, though just now they were flashing with tense worry. He wore baggy black jeans and a tight-fitting black shirt to match. Those thin threads held back a seemingly delicate body that bristled with hidden strength. The strength and the fury of a tiger.  
  
"Taliesin! Play the part!" Guenhyvar hissed, moving closer to him. She was standing right in front of him now, leaned her head towards him, like they were going to neck. But they never did, she just rested the side of her face against his so they could talk more discreetly. Taliesin didn't mind, Guen wasn't bad looking, even if she was taller than the chicks he usually went after. He could tell by the tension in her jaw that their proximity was the LAST thing she was thinking about though, so he kept his thoughts to himself.  
  
He leaned close as well, whispering in her ear, "How much time before they open up?"  
  
The frosty witch shrugged. Her voice was deep and somewhat monotonous, like she was bored out of her mind. "A few minutes, who knows? Just keep your eyes peeled, since I can't." She didn't seem particularly happy about that fact. Taliesin almost offered to switch spots with Guen, then he stopped. She had human night vision, which basically meant she could hardly see, while he had eyes like a cat's. His pupils were probably twice the size of hers right now, and they could grow even larger. He could even see infrared, body heat. Basically, he needed to be the look out for the pair.  
  
They didn't speak after that. Taliesin simply watched the deserted street. Until building they were leaning up against, the Black Ivy Club, opened its doors, they would have nothing to say. And even then, the two probably wouldn't need to speak. None of them would. Verbal communication would be both difficult and risky, and they knew they couldn't take chances.  
  
It was supposed to be a quick mission. Grab one person from the club and get out. Of course, that wouldn't be easy. Night people are notoriously strong and dangerous, and a Nightworlder who was still with the Council would be exceptionally so. The Daybreakers would be afraid to hurt an innocent, but the sort of people who backed the Council wouldn't give a damn. Why should they?  
  
Taliesin was suddenly jolted from his thoughts. SOMEONE WAS COMING.  
  
He sensed him long before he saw him. There was a scent to him, whoever he was, a strange scent he couldn't place. That Taliesin couldn't recognize the smell was a bad sign, a very bad sign. All the cats had keen noses, and every shapeshifter worth his pelt could recognize almost every scent under the sun.  
  
When he finally came into view, all Taliesin could do was stare. He seemed to be made of beautiful, dark colors, much more intense than everything else on the nighttime street. His shirt was the color of clotted blood, his jeans like the night sky, his hair the color of goldenrod in the moonlight. And that was just the color spectrum! On the infrared, he was exuding rays of heat, his vision was going wild. He could barely see, there was bright red everywhere. Who the hell was this guy?  
  
He was looking around casually, just observing everything around him. As he walked, he was whistling. Taliesin recognized the tune instantly: You are My Sunshine. A strange song to be whistling, Taliesin thought. Odd for a human, macabre for a Nightworlder. On a night this dark, who would be thinking about sunshine?  
  
Taliesin was about to ask Guenhyvar to check him out, but the words died in his throat. The guy turned his head, only slightly. With a jolt like lightning, they made eye contact. Taliesin's field of vision shrank and shrank, until all he could see were his eyes, staring back at him. Everything seemed to disappear but for the two of them. He couldn't feel Guen in his arms, he couldn't feel the wall he was leaning against. There were no more streetlamps, no buildings, no ground under his feet or night sky over his head. The only things left were Taliesin and this strange guy's eyes. Hazel. He had hazel eyes.  
  
Finally, they both looked away. Looked away was the wrong way to put it. Tore themselves from each other was more appropriate. The silence was terrible, and Taliesin realized that the guy had stopped whistling. Then, with a shake of his head, whoever he was just turned back towards where he was going, and he began to whistle again. But he seemed to have lost some of his confidence, for the tune was choppy and slightly off key. 


	3. Faking

What the hell WAS this guy? Taliesin had to know, he had to understand. No one, nothing he had ever encountered before had been able to do that.  
  
Even as Taliesin wondered, the guy had slowed his walk down, and was now casually pacing back and forth in front of a small mom and pop store across the street, two doors down from where Habbakuk was hiding.  
  
Taliesin reached up, put his hands on Guenhyvar's shoulders. "Guen, I'm going to turn you around. Be very careful, don't look like you are staring. I'll put my head to your neck, and I want you to tell me what you think of that guy."  
  
Guenhyvar nodded slowly, and he spun her around. He could feel the blonde witch shaking under his fingertips. "Guen! What is it?"  
  
Much to his surprise, Guenhyvar laughed softly, scornfully. "He's a HUMAN, Taliesin! Don't you know a human when you see one?" Her voice was mocking, cold.  
  
"No, Guen! He can't be. There's more to him than that." The witch shook her head. "Okay, fine. He's not giving any signs off to you. So maybe he knows how to hide it. Who could hide himself well enough to fool a witch?"  
  
"Honestly, if I can't pick up something there's no way YOU could."  
  
"My senses are keener than yours, you know that." Taliesin spun her back around, held her at arm's length. He whispered, "Guenhyvar, just trust me on this. Please. Let's take him."  
  
"Why him?"  
  
Taliesin sighed, his thin head drooping a little. He couldn't admit that he didn't know why. He couldn't admit that even to himself. "Because there is SOMETHING about him. He has power, power we can use. Trust me."  
  
Guenhyvar shook her head skeptically, which knocked her silvery blonde hair about gracefully. "We want information, not power. Someone who will talk. If this guy really is powerful enough that he can keep me from sensing anything about him, then he isn't going to tell us anything."  
  
"Trust me," he said again. That settled the matter, Taliesin could see it in her pale eyes. For some strange reason, everyone deferred to him. Some did it out of trust, some out of fear, and some because there was simply no other option, but they all placed Taliesin in charge. He continued, a bit more loudly. "Let's go wait for the bus. It should be coming soon." He said it just loudly enough that if whoever he was had keen hearing, he wouldn't be suspicious.  
  
Though he might be anyway. The bus stop wasn't really a bus stop. A friend of Guenhyvar's had had the sign put in last week, but no bus was supposed to pick them up. It was simply a good place for them to stand and wait without arousing suspicion.  
  
The witch and the tiger stood beside the two vampires. "Taliesin wants that guy," Guenhyvar whispered, standing close to Taliesin and not making eye contact with Oberon or Lenore.  
  
Obie casually looked behind him, where the young man in question was standing, then shook his head. "He's a HUMAN!" Oberon mouthed silently.  
  
"I know," Guenhyvar replied, still Taliesin. "I agree. But it's what he wants." She said this a little louder than before, making it sound like she was making small talk. Taliesin nodded his approval, giving himself a reminder to compliment her on that later.  
  
"Lennie, go get Habbakkuk." Taliesin whispered.  
  
The curvy vampiress just winked, then began to meander across the deserted street. Taliesin allowed himself a moment's pleasure, his eyes following the sway of Lenore's behind. After a moment she was gone, hidden in the shadows of the surrounding buildings of the alley.  
  
"Oberon, go!" Taliesin hissed.  
  
The impish vampire nodded, an innocent grin on his face. He walked hurridly across the street, using the same bouncy step that all humans his age possess. Even though Taliesin had seen the kid in action many times, it still amazed him how convincing Oberon was.  
  
"Hey, mister," he called, an innocent and friendly grin plastered on his face, "You mind if I sit here?"  
  
"Sure, kid. And don't call me mister. I'm not old enough to be your dad, am I?" Odd. He was friendly. Too friendly.  
  
Obie actually made a show of thinking about it for a second. "No, u ain't. What's your name?"  
  
"Nicodemus. But my friends call me Nicky. What's yours?"  
  
Interesting name, Taliesin thought to himself. The Biblical wise fool. Is he lying, or just confident enough to tell the truth?  
  
"Jimmy," Oberon replied glibly. Good, good. The kid was smart enough to lie. "Nicky, can you do me a favor?"  
  
"Sure, Jim. What is it?" Trusting. He was too trusting. That or he was biding his time. Taliesin's stomach felt like it had been lined with ice. Something was going wrong. But what? There weren't any signs of it. The plan was working well, too well. No nightworlder with any brains at all would fall for this. Oberon practically radiated with vampiric energy, with the blood power. This Nicodemus had to know, had to see right through it. Yet he was playing along. Why was he playing along?  
  
"I just need you to come with me, for a minute. My mom is supposed to be waiting for me across the street, but I don't like walking alone in the dark. You mind?" Oberon was innocent, sincere. He was playing the part perfectly. Maybe this Nicodemus really was falling for it. No, it couldn't be, he was too powerful. It didn't add up, Taliesin didn't understand.  
  
Nicodemus shrugged, which tossed his blonde cheek-length hair a little. "Sure, kid." He even held out his hand, which Oberon took happily.  
  
"Bloody hell," Taliesin hissed softly, watching the spectacle with wonder. It was perfect, too perfect. The spritely vampire and an unknown nightworlder, walking hand in hand down a dark street in NYC. He was walking into a trap. He didn't seem to know, or he didn't seem to care. Taliesin didn't know which would be worse.  
  
They were five steps from the alley, four, three, two, one, YES! They were there. A motorcycle engine roared to life, and then another. Habbakkuk practically flew out from behind the dumpster. Nicodemus saw the danger, too late. He tried to run, but he was actually attempting to pull Oberon with him. That slowed him down, because Oberon was suddenly just as strong as Nicodemus, and using every ounce of that strength to slow him down.  
  
In the end, Nicodemus's attempt to flee counted for nothing. Habbakkuk grabbed him, clonked him on the head, knocking him out, and stretched him across his lap. Right behind him was Lenore on her own bike, who pulled Oberon up into the seat behind her.  
  
Guenhyvar and Taliesin made no show of loitering after that. They had what they came for, and the act became just that: an act. There was no more closeness between them, no pretense of romance. They stood three feet apart, hardly looked at each other. They were coworkers once more, as they walked towards the alley to grab their bikes and leave. 


	4. Fearing

They stopped in an alley about twelve blocks away. Habbakkuk roughly shoved the unconscious Nicodemus off his lap. He landed on his shoulder on the pavement. "He reeks of human," the werewolf muttered coldly.  
  
"What, so you won't carry him?" Lenore asked with a wicked grin. "Does that mean I get to ride with you?"  
  
Guenhyvar just shook her head. "Not unless Obie is tall enough to drive your motorcycle for you." A hopeful look crossed Oberon's face, but Guenhyvar shook her head again.  
  
"I'm not riding with THAT," Habbakkuk repeated obstinantly, as though Nicodemus was something to be reviled. If Guen was right, if Nicodemus was human, then he was.  
  
Taliesin just stared at his team with a mixture of contempt and humor. "FINE! I'll take him, if it'll make you all so bloody happy!" The shapeshifter sat straighter in his seat, fixed them each in turn with his amber-eyed glare. "But you had all better help get him onto my bike and make sure he'll stay there," he growled.  
  
Habbakkuk picked up Nicodemus and placed him on the seat behind Taliesin, all the while acting as though there was an offensive odor in the air. Guenhyvar and Lenore quickly used a length of rope to tie the two together. The cord looked ordinary enough, but it wasn't. Interwoven strands of silver, lead, and bast, the inner bark of trees, made the cord able to hold back anything, Nightworld or Day. In less than a minute, it looked as though Taliesin and a drowsy friend were riding double on a motorcycle. Not odd in the slightest, especially in a place like New York.  
  
Taliesin wasn't really paying attention to any of this. It was all he could do not to fall of his bike when Habbakkuk put Nicodemus down. If only eye contact sent his mind spiralling out of control, physical contact was worse. It was painful. Every place Nicodemus's body touched his, it felt like he was leaning against an electric fence. Not enough pain to knock him unconscious, but enough so that the shapeshifter was fidgeting in his seat. Fortunately, no one really seemed to take notice. Oberon squinted at him strangely for a moment, but the look passed almost as soon as it came.  
  
Lenny and Habbakkuk got back on their bikes, Oberon leapt into the rear seat of Guenhyvar's motorcycle, and they were off again. Taliesin gritted his teeth, revved the motor. He couldn't do anything about the strange electric feeling, couldn't help feeling helpless because of it. Couldn't help feeling angry because he was helpless. The shapeshifter snarled silently, letting his temper be hidden by his helmet.  
  
Of course, Nicodemus picked that moment to wake up. Taliesin knew he was coming to, had a few seconds warning, long enough to make sure that Guenhyvar was close by, in case he tried to make a break for it. "Wha-?!" Grogginess turned to anger and fear. "Who are you? Where are you taking me?" Taliesin ignored him. Why should he answer? "What do you want?" Still the shapeshifter ignored him, let the confused voice behind him get lost in the wind.  
  
The ropes that tied the two together were moving, more than they should have. He was trying to escape. Taliesin did a sharp turn into an alleyway, an alleyway they had already passed by a few feet. If the ropes had given the slightest bit more, Taliesin's passenger would have been a corpse. As it was, Nicodemus had to hold onto Taliesin's stomach tightly to make sure he didn't fall off.  
  
"You're a fool. Did you honestly think that I wouldn't notice you loosening the ropes?" Taliesin hissed, using one arm to shove Nicodemus to the ground. It had been too easy to knock him over, Taliesin realized. Another thing that didn't bode well.  
  
Nicodemus just sighed, lying there on the ground as the other three motorcycles halted around him. "I don't have any money on me. If I did, I'd have given it to you-!"  
  
He was cut off by Guenhyvar chuckling. "DO you really think we need money?" she said, her voice soft and cold. "You SHOULD know what we are, and that ought to be enough to prove that we don't need cash." She stared at Taliesin as she spoke, proving her point. The shapeshifter shook his head slowly. Humans couldn't turn themselves into electric fences.  
  
"Look, I don't have a clue who you guys are! Is this a gang war or something, because I swear I'm not involved!" He was sweating. Guen nodded again, meeting Taliesin's gaze.  
  
Oberon laughed from his seat behind Guenhyvar. "A gang?! That's rich! How dumb could you be?"  
  
"JIMMY???" Seeing Oberon somehow made Nicodemus understand, made him very afraid. Oberon wasn't playing the innocent child anymore. Now he looked like a sadistic person several years older, all because of changes in posture and speech, and his blue eyes gleamed metallic in the street lamps.  
  
"Yeah, Jimmy, mhmm." Lenore muttered. "Now that we have gotten introductions over with, can we please get home? I'm hungry, and I'd prefer not to eat out."  
  
Habbakkuk chuckled, stared directly at Nicodemus. Though this guy had to be nearly as tall as Habbakkuk, he did not look it as he stared dumbly upwards at the werewolf.  
  
"Habbakkuk, would you help me get him back up here?" Why not use fear to your advantage, Taliesin wondered. Habbakkuk had an idea of what the shapeshifter was trying to do, loomed over Nicodemus to appropriate effect.  
  
"No!" he shouted, his voice a strangled gasp. "No, I can get back in my seat," he said softly, with a coating of false calm on each word. He proved to be telling the truth as he got up on his own, sat in the seat. He seemed to lean back from Taliesin a little. It made the shapeshifter wonder, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. The girls didn't let him keep his distance anyway, as they pulled the two together with the length of rope.  
  
They were off again, and it only took perhaps ten more minutes of riding for them to reach the safehouse. The girls quickly untied Nicodemus, and Habbakkuk carried him bodily inside. 


	5. Flipping

The safe house was a small brick building, about the size of an apartment. It looked more like a tiny office building than a lived-in house, which suited them all just fine. Boring brick exterior walls, common black roofing, typical evergreen hedges out front, and basic white blinds on every window, shut tight. It was a small, cheap building that the group only used when they needed it.  
  
All the house had was a minimal kitchen, a tiny bathroom, a bedroom big enough for one, and a living room barely large enough to hold the couch, television, bookshelves, and shackles that it contained. The last were for their 'guest', and Habakkuk escorted him there. The bast, silver, and lead clamps were attached to his arms, legs, and waist. He could sit and lie down with enough comfort, but his waist wasn't going more then about a foot and a half from the wall, and the keys for the shackles were kept out of sight, under a loose board in the floor of the bedroom.  
  
When Taliesin knew Nicodemus was properly restrained, he approached him. "Here are the rules, kid. You behave well, this is the worst that happens to you. Right now, these shackles are fairly comfy. I can tighten them so you are stuck in one position day in and day out, awake or sleeping. I can also let Habakkuk over there hit you. He enjoys the sight of blood enough that he won't mind." Nicodemus paled a little at the word 'blood', but said nothing.  
  
"I am telling you exactly how we are going to guard you, simply because you would figure it out yourself within a few hours anyway. There are going to be two guards in here at all times. One of them is going to be there for fun, maybe sleeping and maybe talking to the other guard. That one, the other guard, is the one you should watch out for, because he's going to be watching you like a hawk the entire time. How long does a shift last? No clue. That'll change constantly, so don't bother trying to figure it out. Any questions?"  
  
"Why am I here?" he asked bluntly.  
  
Guenhyvar sighed. "Taliesin, he doesn't know. If he was one of us, he would have some clue as to why we got him."  
  
"One of you? I don't understand." Nicodemus looked bewildered. Perhaps a little too bewildered. If it was all an act...  
  
"Hmm." Taliesin thought aloud. "Did we break the laws yet?" Guen shook her head. "Then let's do it." He grinned a little, and everyone else smiled back, just a tiny bit.  
  
Slowly, Taliesin let his face transform. The first visible sign was his amber eyes glowing, even as his face elongated. Soon, he had a feline muzzle. His ears slowly pointed as they moved up his head, and fur sprouted all over his body. With a soft crunch his elbows and knees reversed direction, even as his spine lengthened and his muscles grew. He was a fully grown tiger in seconds.  
  
Nicodemus chuckled a little, sounding more bemused than afraid, though his laughter was nervous. "Shapeshifters. I should have known."  
  
Taliesin just looked at him, as his features shifted back to human. There was a look of cautious worry on his face. "Why didn't you sense us before? You were riding in the back of my bike for a really long time. You should have been able to tell fifty feet away what I am. Why didn't you?"  
  
"How would I know? You looked human until you pulled that stunt."  
  
Taliesin hung his head. "Either he's lying or Guen's right. What do we do now?"  
  
"Kill him," Habakkuk said quietly. His deep bass voice was a soft growl. Nicodemus' eyes bulged a little, and the last bit of color on his face sapped away. "You just showed him the truth. We can't keep him around if he knows, and he's not what we want anyway."  
  
"Habakkuk is right," Lenore agreed. "We can go pick someone else up, as soon as we get rid of the body. We might have someone worth taking tonight."  
  
Guenhyvar and Oberon were nodding their heads.  
  
Taliesin shook his head. No! They needed this guy. Taliesin did not understand why, or even what Nicodemus really was, but they could not kill him. "No. This kid has something of us in him. Maybe he could learn your trade," He said to Guen. "I think he has the power to do it."  
  
"I'd sense it if he could."  
  
Taliesin replied, "Not necessarily. I just KNOW this kid has something. Let's wait a week, see what happens. For all we know, he's just a damn good actor and he has what we want." He met each of their eyes as he spoke, and one by one they lowered their heads in deferral. "Good. I'll take first shift, who is with me?" Guenhyvar stepped forward. "The rest of you, go home and get some sleep. Spend some time relaxing." The last was directed at Lenore and Habakkuk with a wink, and they both smiled faintly.  
  
"Can I stay?" Oberon asked. "I'm too short to bike home myself, and I'm not going home with those two." He said it with a wry grin.  
  
Guen nodded, and Oberon smiled as he walked over to the bedroom to get some sleep.  
  
Taliesin sat down on the couch, staring straight ahead in silence. Guen sat next to him for a moment. Almost close enough to touch, and they both knew it. For all the time since they had broken up, they still had chemistry. She was still beautiful. But that didn't change their last fight, a real fight, where she was hurling bolts of pale white energy and wielding a silver dagger, where he leapt menacingly from shadow to shadow as a hulking mass of orange and black fur with sharp and shining teeth.  
  
Taliesin found himself looking at her. Her soft breasts, her slender waist, her... He shouldn't be staring. He fought against himself, won, and looked away. But not before he noticed her glancing at him...  
  
She yawned. "I'm going to go lie down, Tallie."  
  
"Sure, Guen. You need some sleep." She had been scouting the club out for a few hours before everyone else showed up, and she had been up for about a day straight, without anything to eat either. "Why don't you ask Obie to get you some food?"  
  
She smiled gratefully without replying and left for the bedroom. Silence hung in the air for a little while.  
  
"Can I go to the bathroom?" Nicodemus asked quietly.  
  
"Once per shift." Taliesin replied as he walked into the bedroom, grabbed the keys, and crouched so he could unhook the whole piece from the wall so that it all the clasps were still on. Or at least he tried to. Instead, the back of his hand brushed the small of Nicodemus's back when he went to unlock the piece. Nicodemus visibly started, and there was an almost feverish gleam in Taliesin's eyes.  
  
"You feel it too, don't you?" Nicodemus asked softly. His face held a look of dawning understanding.  
  
Taliesin glared, a golden gleam in his amber eyes. "What is it? You know what it is!"  
  
Nicodemus shook his head. "You mean you don't know either?"  
  
Taliesin rocked back on his heels and rose to his feet. Many zoo workers would have recognized the way he paced, the same way tigers often do when nervous or confronted. He looked composed, but for the haunted look on his face.  
  
"What is going on?" Nicodemus asked. He seemed curious, bewildered, but almost too much so. To Taliesin's mind, used to the reserved and hidden behavior of the Night World's denizens, Nicodemus's face emoted, gave away everything too well.  
  
It was an act, a show. Taliesin felt it in his head, but something in his blood disagreed. Too many sensations, too strange. He was never at war with himself, not like this. It was HIS fault! It had to be, some strange power of his. Whatever he was...  
  
"Damn you! You know perfectly well what is going on! How are you doing this?"  
  
Nicodemus looked even more puzzled. "What are you talking about? How many people do you know that give off static electricity?"  
  
Taliesin snarled, lost control of himself. He didn't know what he was doing until he saw fur sprout on his hands, watched his fingernails turn into claws. He was half and half now, just as much a tiger as a man. His face was only a few inches from Nicodemus's; his furry hands, stronger than any human's, normally so steady that he suspected he wouldn't twitch even as he was dying, were shaking like a leaf as they grasped around his throat. Was it the electricity? He couldn't tell. His vision was red and his hands were so badly electrocuted they felt numb. "Tell. Me. Now."  
  
Nicodemus went completely limp in his grasp. He began to turn blue after a moment, and only then did Taliesin let go. He backed up compulsively, almost like letting go had shocked him too. He felt frazzled, like a cat that had been forced to take a bath. Every hair in his body was standing on end, even as he let himself drift back to human form. He then sat down on the couch, watched Nicodemus in an uneasy silence. His breathing was ragged and uneven, every limb ached, and his head hurt. He would have to change shifts soon.  
  
An hour later, as he was lying in the little bunk bed, trying desperately and futilely to sleep, it occurred to him that Nicodemus had never answered. 


End file.
